Green scene

Even though I avoid buying clothes that are 'in fashion', choosing things I fall in love with and wearing them till they fall apart – and generally going for vintage when it comes to evening wear – I still, like every woman I know, suffer from occasional pangs of 'clothes guilt'. It's that slightly sick feeling you get when you open your wardrobe and there's more in there than you can possibly wear.

There are several potential ways to assuage these pangs, of course: send bin-bagsful to Oxfam, consign your clothes to a designer second-hand shop or set up a trestle at a car-boot sale.

But now there's a new option – landed here from the US – called 'swishing', the eco-fashionista's word for swapping.

The idea is that you can end up with a completely free wardrobe, while disposing of those instantly regretted purchases (which seemed like a good idea at the time) in the most eco-conscious way possible. Well-organised – and with their own set of rules (see swishing.org) – swishing parties are a great excuse for a girlie get-together to which you can bring shoes, jewellery and accessories as well as clothes.

Cast-off

According to traid.co.uk, 900,000 tons of clothing and shoes are thrown away each year in the UK with only 200,000 tons of this recycled. The rest is dumped in landfill sites.

You must arrive with at least one item – it must be clean and in good nick – but you can leave with as many as you manage to bag. The hostess lays on snacks, drinks and a clothes rail – on which everything is hung, giving guests a happy hour or so to look through the goodies.

You can't actually claim any items during this time. (Patience, patience!) A five-minute warning should be scheduled before 'go', but as soon as the 'swish' is declared open, invitees take what they want.(No biting, scratching or elbowing allowed!)

Five minutes later, you might be the proud new owner of a friend's too-small Prada shoes, and have fully, permanently recovered from the panic attack you got after splashing out on that new balloon skirt which looked so great in Vogue but has you hobbling to the office.

The brains behind swishing is Futerra, a group dedicated to promoting sustainability among young women. (Swish means 'the rustle of silk', but they take it to mean 'rustling from friends...') And while I don't suppose it's going to take over from shopping any time soon (sadly for the planet), it's no wonder that swishing evenings are joining book clubs and knitting groups as fashionable ways to spend an evening.

Free clothes – and not a smidgen of guilt. How about that for the ultimate girls' night in?

Swishing lines: How to get organised

Invite your friends over by downloading one of the smart-looking invitations from swishing.org, then fill in the time, date and address and mail to your friends.

Make sure you have enough rails to hang the clothes on: you could make a request through freecycle.org to see if someone in your area has one going spare, or invest in a new chrome garment rail from johnlewis.com, price from £40. This could then be 'pooled' among friends for future swishing events.